LauraB

Thanks so much to all who've offered suggestions! You've given me a number of great ideas. If anyone has any more suggestions that haven't yet been mentioned, please do share.

Don, we will have a car. I think we could go as far as Penn Quarter, if need be. The guests need to attend a dinner on Cap Hill at 7:00. I agree that this is an 'awkward' situation, which is why I'm asking for help.

I have a kind of unique situation. This Saturday we are meeting someone coming into Union Station around 3:00 pm. They will need to leave before 7:00 pm for a dinner. I need to find a place in the vicinity where we could have light snacks, coffee, drinks, but not a dinner, between 3 and 6:30 pm. I don't know this area well at all, so hoping some of you may have some suggestions. Thanks!

I believe Elizabeth is referring to Mark Furstenberg's new place on Connecticut in Van Ness called Bread Furst -- it's supposed to open tomorrow according to the latest email from him.

I think you may be confusing it with BlackFinn, which is closed. Black's Bar and Kitchen is not closed.

I spoke with someone at Palena about an hour ago. Yes, tomorrow is the last night. This includes both the Dining Room and the Café, and presumably, the Coffee Shop. So sad.

A book that I read in recent months that I found both enthralling and disturbing was We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. I liked this book so much that I gave it as birthday gifts to several friends. I don't want to say more about it because I feel this book is best enjoyed if the reader does not know 'the secret.' I was very happy to see that it won the PEN/Faulkner award recently. Very much deserved.

I read Endurance back in the '90s and it left an indelible mark. Not long thereafter the National Geographic Society had an exhibit of Shackleton's voyage which featured the actual James Caird whaler in which he and the others traveled from Elephant Island to South Georgia. My companions and I, who had all read the book, were absolutely stunned at the sight of this boat. It was 23 feet long. It seemed so small for such an epic journey.

MrB and I played tourists this morning and walked from home down to the Tidal Basin. We hadn't been in about 5 years and one forgets just what a spectacular sight this is -- the trees were at peek bloom and it was good to see that the brutal winter does not seem to have harmed the blooms at all. We walked the full circumference of the Basin and spent some time lingering at one of our favorite spots in DC, the FDR Memorial. We walked from there to downtown and decided on lunch at Central where we had not been in a number of years. It turned out to be a perfect end to our cherry blossom tour. They had a 3-course lunch special for $21, which, when you consider that their hamburger alone is $20 if you add bacon and cheese, it seemed like a good deal. There were only 2 choices per course, but each contained something of interest, so that wasn't a problem. The choices on today's menu were: Appetizers: French Onion Soup or Frisee Salad with Sauteed Mushrooms; Mains: Tartare of Filet Mignon with Frites or Trout Almondine; Dessert: Chocolate Mousse or Raspberry Cheesecake. Between us we covered the entire menu with the exception of the salad as we both opted for the onion soup which was very good. He really enjoyed the Tartare and the frites were very successfully done; my trout almondine was served with parslied potatoes and haricots verts; it was cooked well, but a bit boring. The raspberry cheesecake had a very flavorful crust and the chocolate mousse was delicious. The servings were all on the smaller side but I'm not sure if they're smaller than they would be if ordered off the regular menu. On my way to the restroom I spotted Michel Richard clad in an orange T-shirt dining at a table in the back. I told our server I was surprised that he wasn't in New York and she told us that he splits his time between the two but prefers DC. After the rather brutal reviews of his new place in NYC, that's perhaps understandable.

We had a delightful first visit at Kapnos last Saturday. I don't know what took us so long to get there, but we won't wait very long to return. There were 3 of us and we ordered 8 dishes to share. First up were 2 of the dips with pita bread: Tyrokafteri: feta, smoked manori, grains of paradise, and Melitzanosalata: smoky eggplant, roasted peppers, walnuts, feta. Both of these were very good, but the smoky eggplant was outstanding. The pita bread seemed to be house-made, but I may be wrong about that. Wherever it was baked, it was quite good. Two very large pieces were delivered at the outset; our guest ordered several more and we were not charged for them. For vegetables/legumes we ordered the Charred Brussels with white anchovy, black garlic, kalamata, and red pepper and they were fantastic. The anchovy added just the right amount of umami and the kalamatas the briny. The Fourno Patates with lemon, feta, pastirma, and scallion were a disappointment "“ while the potatoes were well-cooked, there wasn't much flavor at all. Rounding out the trio was the Gigandes which are giant beans prepared with onion seeds, bulbs, stems, flowers. I love gigande beans and whenever I see them on a menu, I'm inclined to order them. These were a tad mushy and not all that flavorful and were delivered at the end of the meal and so were a bit of an afterthought. We ordered 3 proteins, starting with the Seared Diver Scallops which were dressed with citrus, brown butter, poppy seed. There were only 2 scallops and at $15 for the dish, that seemed over-priced. My two dining companions had one scallop each and weren't particularly impressed; I didn't taste this dish so I can't comment. The Suckling Pig over orzo and flavored with dill and orange was exquisite. All of us loved this and my only complaint would be that there just wasn't enough of it! Finally, the Saturday Classic special is Kapama, a kind of cinnamon-spiced lamb stew served over a grain. We used to be regulars at the original Cava in Rockville and our favorite dish there was the lamb kapama. So, we were enticed. It was very, very good "“ somewhat different from the Cava rendition, but delicious all the same. Our server was very friendly, very knowledgeable, and very helpful. All in all, it was a lovely experience that we'd be happy to repeat.

Had dinner at Doi Moi for the second time last night. The first visit was in mid-September and I left not knowing what I thought of the place, both food-wise and venue-wise, but certainly wasn't in a hurry to return, as evidenced by the 7-month separation between visits. Decided to give it another try last night prior to seeing a play at Studio Theatre. We ordered 5 dishes to share: Grilled Prawns: I'm going to come right out and say it: These were just awful. I don't know if the quality of the prawns was bad, or they were seriously overcooked, or both. They were virtually impossible to pry out of the shells and the result was little chunks of prawn which were really mealy and totally devoid of flavor. The dipping sauce was tasty, but couldn't do anything to resuscitate the DOA prawns. In retrospect, we should have sent them back and asked that they be removed from our bill. We didn't. Papaya Salad: This was light and refreshing and had a nice kick of heat. Other than that, it was nothing special. We've had way better papaya salad at several venues. Stir-Fried Lemongrass Beef on Vermicelli Noodles: This was served with fresh, crisp and refreshing sliced vegetables and had good lemongrass flavor, but we found the beef to be tough, despite being thinly sliced. We were also not served the nuoc cham that was supposed to accompany the dish, but didn't notice until it was too late. Overall, the dish was perfectly acceptable, but not memorable. Thai Sausage Fried Rice: This was MrB's choice "“ if he sees a sausage on a menu, he's going to order it. The spicy preserved sausage added a nice sour tang to the dish and, like the beef dish, it was perfectly fine. Chiang Mai Chicken and Noodle Curry: This was by far our favorite dish of the meal, but as I've noted above, it didn't have a lot of competition. The noodles were exquisitely made "“ very light. The sauce was a flavor treat "“fragrant from the coconut and a bit sour from the pickled greens. The chicken was cooked perfectly on the bone and was quite moist. Curiously, despite being labeled Phet (spicy) on the menu, it wasn't spicy at all. This did not detract from our enjoyment of the dish. We would happily order this again and it's the only dish I would order again. (I'm sure MrB would order the Thai Sausage Fried Rice again.) Doi Moi was the new restaurant on 14th that I was most looking forward to last summer because there just aren't many restaurants in DC proper serving this kind of cuisine, and because of the track record of Kuller and Karoum. Sadly, we left the restaurant for the second time feeling kind of befuddled. It wasn't a bad meal (with the exception of the prawns), but it wasn't an experience that we're eager to repeat, and that's not just referring to the food. The service was competent, but certainly not engaging. The ambience feels cold and sterile "“ and I'm not referring to the temperature, it's the atmosphere "“ it's very stark. Thinking about it this morning, I concluded that for me, Doi Moi is a restaurant without a soul. I think that, had we been served the same food (with the exception of the prawns) in a restaurant that felt warm and embracing, as opposed to cold and hard, we might have felt differently about the whole experience. I recall that Sietsema, in his review of Doi Moi, called it 'Little Serow without the line.' All I know is, next time I'm craving excellent Thai food, I'll be standing in line at Little Serow.

I can recommend Jeff Martin. I know him personally. He has photographed many restaurants in DC, including the food. He's done work for The Washingtonian, Brightest Young Things, Urban Daddy, to name just a few. Here's Jeff's Website and Tumblr page.

Taco Bamba in Falls Church has a fish taco made with fried tilapia on its menu. I've not had it, but if it's as good as the other tacos I've had there, it'd be worth a visit. Tortacos in Gaithersburg used to have fish tacos on Saturdays. I haven't been there in awhile so don't know if it's still true. I never made it in on a Saturday to try them, but I very much enjoyed all of their other kinds of tacos.

Well, that's disappointing. When it said 'Argentinian,' I probably should have guessed it would be steak.

Walking by the Loews Madison at 15th & M earlier today, I noticed big signs in the windows announcing that Jose Garces is bringing Argentinian food to DC. No name or opening date were given. I hadn't heard anything about this previously. We are big fans of his Spanish restaurant, Amada, in Philadelphia, so it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Don, there was no extra seat in business class, so this man sat in the middle seat of a row at the back of the plane on a transatlantic flight that probably lasted 8 hours. Mark told the flight attendant that, whatever the man wanted in terms of food and drink, he wanted to pay for and tried to hand her his credit card. The flight attendant refused the card and told him that the man's nourishment would be taken care of by the airline (United Airlines). This story gets even better. This man insisted on accompanying Mark from the plane and through customs. He is a frequent international traveler with a specialized clearance that allows him to get through customs and security in an expedited way and he insisted that they allow Mark to do the same. He then stayed with him until they reached the area where Mark's father was waiting to pick him up, saying that he would not leave the airport until he knew that Mark had connected with his father. So, my husband was able to meet the man, express his deep gratitude, and contact information was exchanged. I have not put his name in these posts out of respect for his privacy. Rest assured, however, that we have every intention of inviting this man and his wife to dinner at one of Washington's finest restaurants.

To the incredibly kind and generous gentleman aboard a flight yesterday from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC. Upon seeing a wounded soldier in an arm sling and a leg brace struggling down the aisle toward a middle seat in the back of coach, this man asked the soldier to please take his seat in BUSINESS class. When the solider demurred, the man told him that he insisted upon exchanging seats with the soldier. Awesome.

I would like to acknowledge the class act that Ted's Bulletin on 14th Street was this morning. My husband's son is visiting from Germany and he took him to Ted's for breakfast. Mark is a Green Beret who was seriously wounded a year ago in Afghanistan and still wears a sling and leg brace. Mark ordered 3 things off the menu: the breakfast burrito, 3 eggs and 2 pancakes. He asked that the eggs be put on top of the burrito. The server returned and said that the chef would like to know if it's ok if he gets "˜creative' with the dish. Sure. The chef himself delivered the finished dish to the table and struck up a lengthy conversation with Mark about the Wounded Warrior project. When the check came, it was for $0.00. My husband left a generous tip. Thank you so much to the chef and server (whose names I unfortunately do not know) "“ you are a credit to the Matchbox group and you really made a wounded veteran's day today!

We've been without a working kitchen for awhile and have been doing a lot of carryout and visiting cheap eat-in places. Tonight we stopped into Taqueria Nacional for the first time. And the last time. I never knew this place when it was new and on the Hill and named one of the 5 best new Mexican restaurants in the US in 2007 by Bon Appetit. (Really?!!!?) Is this place still owned by Ann Cashion and John Fulchino? Because, frankly, if you told me it had been taken over by the abysmal Austin Grill or Taco Bell, I'd believe you. I ordered the special which was a Grilled Shrimp Taco for $3.50. When it was presented to me, I almost laughed out loud. The entire filling was barely 2 inches in diameter and contained exactly TWO microscopic shrimp "“ the kind of shrimp I'm guessing you might find in a "˜shrimp cocktail' at Red Lobster. The rest of the ingredients: claytonia, pico de gallo, queso fresco, and chipotle crema didn't add much. MrB ordered the Tostada: 2 crisp tortillas, beans, cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, and crema for $6.50; he added lamb which boosted the price to $7.50. I will say that the lamb was not bad; the rest of it however, reminded me of tostadas I used to get from a mediocre carry-out place just off Dupont Circle in the "˜80s. And it was the best dish of the meal! Finally, we had the Quesadilla ($6.50), which was just as big an insult as the Shrimp Taco. It consisted of 4 small wedges. The cheese filling between the tortillas was just cheese, no other ingredients mixed into the cheese as I am accustomed to in a quesadilla. The cheese was one step removed from melted Cheeze-Whiz. The toppings consisted of shredded lettuce and red onions that had no taste at all "“ oh, there was also exactly one pickled jalapeno slice. Walking back home we passed by Chipotle and agreed, we could have had a better meal there for about the same price.

Urban Turf is reporting that Eataly has signed a letter of intent for a location in the Capitol Crossing development at 3rd & Massachusetts, NW (above 395). They're saying it wouldn't open until 2017. http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/eataly_signs_on_to_come_to_dc/8308?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=Wednesday+April+2nd%2C+2014&utm_medium=headline

I agree that their long-term viability is a concern. The first time I visited a few weeks ago it was in the middle of a weekday and I was the only person there. My second visit was this past Saturday in the late morning and I was heartened to see that the place was very busy -- during the short while we were enjoying our purchase, there was a steady stream of customers.

There are a few posts about this place in the thread 'A decent freaking baguette.' However, I could not find a thread devoted exclusively to Fresh Baguette, and I think it deserves it. I stopped in here several weeks ago and the moment I opened the door I was overcome with nostalgia. This place smells exactly like a boulangerie in France. It is owned by a former attaché at the French embassy and most, if not all, of the staff seem to be French. Everything is baked on the premises. Offerings include baguettes, ficelles, sweet pastries, savory pastries, and sandwiches, among other things. During my first visit, they had an item on the counter that looked like a large bun and it was called 'Pate Lorrain.' (I can't figure out how to put an accent on the 'e' in Pate.) I was told there was a pork and veal meatball inside the bun. I bought it and, WOW, it was possibly one of the best things I've ever tasted, and that's saying something. The pork/veal meatball was surrounded by a really delicious and warm broth and the pastry was light and wonderful as well. I also bought a baguette that turned out to be perfect. Yesterday I stopped in for a second visit, this time with MrB, prior to seeing a movie. To my great disappointment, they did not have the Pate Lorrain -- they don't make it every day. Next time I'll call ahead! They did have a lovely apricot pastry fresh out of the oven -- Moulin aux Abricot. We bought one and split it. The apricot portion was divine -- reminiscent of the apricots of yore, not the tasteless things you find today. The pastry, while not as light and flaky as I might like, was still very good. I would love to try one of their sandwiches. I was hoping to pick up a couple to take home for dinner yesterday, but when we emerged from the movie it was pouring and we made a beeline to our car.

This question has not been answered and I'm still curious. Anyone know if Koji is at the Chevy Chase location and if they're featuring the Omakase with Koji?

I agree their website is really awful. They do have a lovely, small, intimate bar upstairs. To my knowledge, there is no happy hour. However, they do have one of the best deals in DC at their bar. Any night of the week you can have a 3-course meal at the bar for $30! There are several selections for each course (the selections are taken from the main dining room menu, they're not dumbed-down versions of the food). Incredibly, they do not mention this at all on their website. I've been several times on various nights of the week and there's never been a problem getting a seat. This is one of the greatest deals in DC dining and it seems to be almost a state secret.

Rancho Gordo chickpeas, in preparation for making: Swiss chard, chickpea and tamarind stew from Ottolenghi's Plenty.